“I’ve been hacking into the government computers almost since I arrived here a year ago. I can find out just about anything you’d want to know, and a great deal you wouldn’t want to know.”
“I want to know if Colonel Croft has any real interest in our party.”
“If you’re here, he’s interested. I hope to God you didn’t yank out those bugs on your phones, because if you did, he’s going to be all over you.”
“I didn’t; they’re still in place; we’re just being careful what we say when we’re in the house.”
“I hear you’ve been up to Irene Foster’s.”
“Yes.”
“She’s probably bugged, too; did you say anything indiscreet there?”
“Certainly not, and I don’t think she’s bugged, because when Stone Barrington happened to mention to the colonel he’d heard that casinos were going to start opening here, Croft got tense. We heard about that from Irene’s buddy Harry Pitts at her house, and if she had been bugged, Croft would already have known about our conversations there.”
Pepper checked his watch. “I’ve got to get back,” he said. “If I stay any longer, my wife’s going to think I’m fucking you.”
Holly laughed. “She sounds like a suspicious woman; she must have cause.”
“Let’s not go into that.” He handed Holly a card. “That’s my satphone number; I’ve got one just like yours. Have you noticed that there’s a scrambler button on it?”
“Yes, but Lance hasn’t told me to use it.”
“When you call me, use it. You can reach me any day at twelve-thirty P.M. for five minutes. No other time.”
“Got it,” Holly said, tucking the card into her bra.
“Give me a minute before you go back to the restaurant.” He got out of the car and returned to the dining room.
Holly waited, then joined the others. Pepper was paying his check and leaving.
“Interesting?” Stone asked.
“I’ll tell you when we’re out of here,” she said.
24
Bill Pepper and his wife, Annie, paid their check and left the inn.
“So, did you fuck her?” Annie asked.
“I would have, if I’d had the time.”
“I thought so.”
They were quiet for a while.
“Did you think she was attractive?”
“You got a look at her; what do you think?”
“I think she’s attractive.”
“Well, I won’t be seeing her again; we’ll talk only on the satphone.”
“Satphone sex!”
“Scrambled satphone sex!”